Drifting
by BelloftheSea
Summary: It only took a moment for everything to change… for lives to be lost; for a treaty to be broken; for lines to be drawn; for a family, once strong, to splinter and drift apart. We never saw it coming. We never dreamed it would happen this way.
1. Five Minutes

**Drifting **

_It only took a moment for everything to change… for lives to be lost; for a treaty to be broken; for lines to be drawn; for a family, once strong, to splinter and drift apart. We never saw it coming. We never dreamed it would happen this way.

* * *

_

**AN.** This is an alternate universe story beginning in Eclipse with a few time line changes. For the purposes of this story, the newborn battle took place before graduation. This story takes place after the newborn battle but before graduation. Also, Jacob has not left. Breaking Dawn is disregarded. Further details will be explained in the story. POV will vary.

**Disclaimer:** All recognizable characters are the property of Stephanie Meyer. I do not own them but am grateful for the opportunity to use them in the unleashing of my own imagination.

**Rating:** This story is rated T for violence and depressing situations.

**POV:** This chapter is written from Alice's point of view.

* * *

**Chapter 1: Five Minutes**

It must have been a split second decision. There was no prior warning.

I was sitting in my history class, with Edward beside me. It was our last class of the day and the one class he hadn't been able to get with Bella, which made him irritable. I was teasing him silently about his grouchy face when the vision overtook me.

Beside me, Edwards eyes widened in horror as he saw the vision pass through my mind. But there was no time to react. Just as the vision ended, we heard the shot pierce the stillness of Forks High School.

Then there was chaos.

Screams and shouts of panic erupted in every classroom. Doors slammed open. A stampede of footsteps sounded in the hallway as students and teachers poured out. Another gunshot was heard, followed by more cries and then more shots.

My mind was reeling but one thought rose above the rest, _Get out._

We had to get out of here, not for our safety, but the safety of the humans in the building. There would be blood, too much blood. If either of us were to lose control…

I met Edwards eyes speaking my thoughts even though I knew he could hear them. "We have to get out of here."

But he was already shaking his head. "Not until I find Bella."

Bella. Yes, we had to make sure she got out. She was human; she could be hurt. Edward would never leave without her and neither would I. She was my friend, my sister.

Not even a minute had passed since the first shot was fired. Both Edward and I were on our feet and exiting the classroom instantly, holding our breath as a precaution, the only thing that might keep us from giving into our instincts and feeding.

We had to travel at a human pace but we ran as fast as we dared without anyone noticing. There was so little time. Bella's classroom was on the other side of the building and fortunately close to the main entrance. Unfortunately, however, we would have to pass through the place where the shooter was still firing to get there.

I glanced at Edward as we neared the place where I knew the sent of blood would be strongest. His face was set in determination; his eyes still golden. He was set on his goal – get Bella and get out. He would be fine. Taking stock of myself, I knew that I too would be fine, so long as I didn't breath. Thank goodness we had hunted just the previous night.

Just then, we rounded the corner. _No!_ my mind screamed when I saw him. A vision of what was about to happen passed through my brain as I remembered the plans Jasper and I had made just that morning. He was here to pick me up. We were going to go up into the mountains for a weekend of hunting, just the two of us. Now I could only watch in horror as those plans changed right before my eyes.

Jasper stood stalk still in the hallway, his eyes clenched shut, not breathing. He was trying so hard, fighting against the scent, against his instincts. Edward and I both picked up our pace. If we could reach him in time, maybe…

But it was no use. A door opened and a student rushed out, crashing into Jasper as he did so, breaking my poor husband's concentration. He scented the spilt blood within the classroom and his eyes turned black with hunger as he dashed inside.

The girl was already dead. I saw that much as Edward and I pulled Jasper off of her. She'd been shot in the head. But it mattered little now. We had to get Jasper out, away from here. Edward and I each took a firm hold on one of Jasper's arms. He didn't fight us. I could feel the horror radiating from him as he realized what he'd just done. We pulled him through and open window and as soon as we were on the ground we made a beeline for the trees.

After traveling about two miles, we met up with Emmett and Rosalie. We pulled Jasper to a stop, and he sank to his knees, his head in his hands. I knelt with him, holding him too me and knowing that I could do little to comfort him right now. Emmett and Rose were bombarding Edward with questions about what was going on. But he ignored hem and turned back toward the school.

"I have to get Bella." He started to run.

"Wait!" I called, and he froze as yet another vision overtook me.

_Edward running into the school building… entering Bella's classroom…seeing the shooter, lying dead after committing suicide… seeing Bella…Bella lying on the floor with a bullet in her chest… Edward flying into a rage… killing… feeding…_

"NO!" Edward turned to run toward the school but I jumped on him, grabbing his arm and holding him back with all my might.

"Edward, it's too late! You can't go back. It'll only make things worse!" He struggled to break my grip, determined to go back. The look of anguish on his face just about broke my heart but I couldn't let him go "Emmett, help me!"

Emmett instantly appeared at his other side, doing a better job of holding Edward back then I was. Rose came up beside me and took my place on Edwards arm.

"You'd better go after Jasper. He ran toward the mountains. We'll get Edward home." She said.

I turned. Sure enough, my husband was gone, likely too overcome by his own emotions as well as Edward's to stay any longer. I nodded to Rosalie, knowing that she and Emmett would take care of Edward, before dashing off to follow Jasper's trail.

As I ran, my mind went over everything that had happened in the past five minutes. Had it only been that long?


	2. Five Hours

**Drifting **

_It only took a moment for everything to change… for lives to be lost; for a treaty to be broken; for lines to be drawn; for a family, once strong, to splinter and drift apart. We never saw it coming. We never dreamed it would happen this way.

* * *

_

**AN.** I realize that Alice may have seemed a bit OOC in the last chapter, but please keep in mind the situation she is in. Also, I would like to point out that this is not an anti-gun story. I believe in the second amendment. One last note: I don't know much about how things work in hospitals, so please suspend your disbelief on anything I get wrong.

**Disclaimer:** All recognizable characters are the property of Stephanie Meyer. I do not own them but am grateful for the opportunity to use them in the unleashing of my own imagination.

**Rating:** This story is rated T for violence and depressing situations.

**POV:** This chapter is written from Carlisle's point of view.

* * *

**Chapter 2: Five Hours**

After having lived for so long and after seeing as much as I've seen, I find that I am shocked by very little in this world.

However, when the call came in that there had been a shooting at Forks High School, I was just that – shocked.

It seemed impossible that something like this could happen in such a small town. It was so horribly simple to think that with vampires and werewolves so close by, the thing that caused the most damage was a human boy with his father's gun. And yet it had really happened.

I could already hear the sirens of the ambulances approaching the hospital as I scrubbed up. I tried to focus on the task at hand, knowing that the wounded students and teachers coming in would need my full concentration. But my mind kept wandering to my children.

Edward and Alice would've been there. Of course, they couldn't be harmed, but if they weren't prepared… neither of them would forgive themselves if they lost control. And then there was Bella – my son's fiancée, soon to be my daughter – who was human, who could be hurt, who could be killed.

My hand reached for my phone, but I stopped myself. As much as I wished to call, to make sure they were all okay, I knew that there wasn't time. I had a job to do here.

Reports had already come in the there were at least three confirmed dead. I would be damned if I let any more die today.

The first of the ambulances arrived and I rushed to where the paramedics were unloading an extremely loud young man. One of the paramedics handed me a clipboard and I quickly scanned it as the man rattled off the boy's stats.

"Male, 17, gunshot wound to the leg – "

The rest of his words were drowned out as the teenager screamed. "My leg! You have to save my leg! I won't be able to play football anymore!"

Looking over him quickly I noted that football was the least of his worries. He'd be lucky if he could walk again. I passed him on to one of the other doctors. His wounds weren't fatal. I would be needed for the more severe injuries.

The next one was worse – a girl who'd been shoved out a window in the panic that ensued during the shooting. She was covered in glass but once again, it was nothing one of the others couldn't handle.

I listened to the reports coming in from the ambulances still en route. The paramedics listed off names, ages, extent of injuries, blood pressure… anything that would help me decide where I was needed most.

I was informed that six people had been shot: the boy who may not ever play football again, a teacher with a stomach wound, a girl with a chest wound, and three more who'd been proclaimed dead on site. I was pretty sure that the shooter himself was among them.

The rest of the injuries were caused in the panic – one student who'd fallen and been stepped on multiple times, another who'd fallen down a flight of stairs, and several more – they were serious but they'd have to wait. My priorities were the teacher and the girl who'd been shot.

The ambulances arrived and the teacher was unloaded first. I went to his side as they rushed him into the emergency room, checking his stats and instructing nurses to prep him for surgery and ready a few pints of blood. I would start on him immediately after I checked the girl.

I turned to the last ambulance and froze as the scent hit me. I knew that scent. It had been a near constant in my life lately. I didn't need the paramedics to tell me who it was.

Bella lay on the gurney, her stillness a stark contrast to all the motion going on around her. She might have been sleeping except for the blood stained gauze wrapped around her head and the nurse holding pressure on her chest wound.

I began barking orders, "Have Dr. Maleck get started on Mr. Burns. I'll be starting with this one. Prep her and start replacing the blood she's loosing. Try to get her heart rate down."

I watched as nurses and hospital staff rushed to do what I ordered. I took the smallest moment to gather my thoughts and then set to work, knowing that the next few hours were going to be hell.

* * *

I sunk into my office chair with a heavy sigh. Physically I was fine, of course, but I was mentally and emotionally exhausted. Just as I'd predicted, the last four hours had been hell.

It had seemed as though I was required to be everywhere at once and, unfortunately, that wasn't a power I had been granted. If I could have chosen, I would have stayed with Bella, doing everything myself to ensure that she came out of this alive. But I couldn't do that. In emergency situations such as this, it was my job to access, delegate, and be where I was needed most when I needed to be there.

Over and over again, I'd been called away from Bella's side to help with other patients. I'd been forced to pass off certain tasks to other doctors and to nurses. Of course, everyone there was fully trained and could do these things almost as well as I could. I knew this, but that didn't stop me from being anxious. If we lost Bella… I didn't even want to think about what that would mean.

She went into cardiac arrest twice in the first half hour as we struggled to replace the blood she'd lost and stop her from loosing anymore. I removed the bullet myself. It had come within millimeters of hitting her heart and somehow, miraculously, didn't do any damage to her lungs either. My main concern was the blood loss and her head injury, from where she fallen against a table after being shot.

As I worked, my hands coated in her blood, I couldn't help but wonder at the fact that this was the same blood that my son craved so horribly but would do anything to protect. It was the blood of the girl whom we had fought for time and again, who had risked her life to save Edward in Italy, who accepted us – accepted him – for what we were and felt no fear.

She had fallen into a coma – weather from the blood loss or the head injury I didn't know, possibly both. It was problematic. I knew that all my efforts to save her here would be worthless if she never woke up. But I pushed those thoughts aside, knowing there was little I could do about it now other then ensuring that her body healed properly. It would be a waiting game after that.

Finally, after what seemed to be a much longer time then the mere four hours it was, we finished. I thanked God that we hadn't lost anyone else. All the victims of the shooting had been treated to the best of our abilities and were either resting or had been sent home. It then came time for me to speak with the families of the victims. All were anxious to know what had happened to their loved ones. I'd gone to Charlie Swan first. He was clearly an emotional wreck so I didn't bother him with details that he wouldn't grasp in this state anyway. I told him of her injuries and that she was stable but in a coma as I ushered him to her bed in ICU. He'd collapsed beside her, holding her hand tightly and sobbing into her sheets. I'd closed the curtain to offer him some privacy before leaving to deal with the other families.

Now that I was done with that, I could finally worry about my own family. Edward would likely already know what had happened to Bella and would probably be a mess. It surprised me that he wasn't here already and that led me to worry that something else had happened.

I grabbed my phone and dialed Esme's number, knowing that no matter what was going on, my wife would have kept the coolest head of all of them. She answered after the first ring.

"Carlisle?" Just the sound of her voice brought me more relief then I could have imagined.

"Esme… is everyone all right." I asked without preamble.

She hesitated a moment then replied, "No Carlisle. Jasper's run off. He… slipped up."

Her words hit me like a ton of bricks. _No… this couldn't be happening. Not now._ The severity of the situation weighed heavily on my mind… what this would mean… The treaty with the werewolves would be broken, our newfound alliance – shattered. We would have to move again, start over once more. Jasper would hold the guilt over himself for who knows how long. We could possibly loose him altogether and Alice with him if it came to that.

But why? How did this happen?

"How? Why? Was he at the school?" I asked.

""Yes. He'd gone to pick up Alice for their weekend. I don't have many details on exactly what happened." Esme's voice was filled with sorrow and it hurt me to hear it.

I ran my hand through me hair and then pinched the bridge of my nose, a habit I'd picked up from Edward, or he from me; I wasn't sure. "Where is he now?"

"He ran off into the mountains. Alice is with him."

I nodded, more to myself then to my wife who couldn't see me anyway. It was good that Alice was with Jasper now. He would be in a bad state of sorrow, guilt, and self-doubt. If anyone could help him right now it would be his wife.

"Alright…" I said with a sigh. "We'll let her handle that for awhile. She's probably the only one who can reach him right now anyway. How's Edward?"

"Oh Carlisle… he's a mess. Alice had a vision, just before she left. Something about Bella. Emmett and Rosalie managed to get him home but it hasn't been easy keeping him here. Carlisle, please tell me there's good news. Bella's not… is she…?"

"She's alive." I wasted no time in assuaging her fears. But before Esme could reply there was a shout on the other end – which sounded a lot like Emmett – followed by a loud crash and I could only imagine which piece of furniture had been destroyed now.

"She's alive?" Edward half asked, half demanded through the phone. I could only assume he'd thrown Emmett of him before taking the phone from Esme.

I sighed. "Yes Edward, she's alive. But her condition is still critical and she's fallen into a coma." I started to inform him of her injuries but he cut me off.

"I'll be there in two minutes."

"Wait!" I called out to him before he could hang up the phone.

"What?" His voice was strained and I knew he was anxious to get her, to see her. I made it quick.

"I know you want to see her Edward but you need to hunt first. I imagine that once you get here you won't want to leave her side for anything and it's possible that she could be here for quite a while. So go hunting first and then come."

Edward growled his frustration over the situation but then sighed. He knew I was right. "Alright, I'll be there in fifteen minutes." He amended his earlier statement and then the line went dead.

I sat there for several minutes after that, still as stone, just thinking. Was it really possible that everything could go from just right to so wrong in a matter of hours? Only a few weeks had passed since our battle with the newborn army created by Victoria. We'd dealt with them and the Volturi all in one night. We'd survived that mess with only a few injuries and come out of it with a stronger, albeit only slightly, alliance with the Quileute werewolves. One even considered us to be friends. We were getting ready to celebrate Bella's graduation and Alice had already begun planning Bella and Edward's wedding, set to take place at the end of August. Everything seemed to be going so well.

And now this.

One would think I'd have learned to stop hoping for things to turn out for the best along time ago. Or, at least that I'd have learned to stop letting it hurt me so much when they didn't.

I always tried to make the most of any situation. It was in my nature to be optimistic, to see what could be done and then do it rather then worrying and wondering if I was doing the right thing. After all, once you've hit bottom the only way you can go is up – or so they say. It seemed to me that being bitten by a vampire and left for dead as you slowly changed into the very thing you had always feared the most was about as low as you could go. And when you have an eternity to live, you learn fairly quickly that wallowing in self pity accomplishes very little.

But, occasionally – and on very rare occasions at that – I'd allow the emotions of doubt and grief and sorrow to overcome me for a few moments.

This was one of those occasions.

It suddenly seemed as though the world was out to destroy me in one way or another. I couldn't be killed by any mortal means and I somehow continued to evade annihilation by others of my kind. So now the world sought to tear me apart from the inside by ripping my family from me, breaking them down one by one. I could see it all in my mind. Of course, I didn't have visions of the future like Alice did but it was hard to predict the way that these events today would affect what may happen tomorrow.

Bella could very well die, at which point Edward would follow the same path he'd nearly taken all those months ago when he thought she was dead – he wouldn't want to exist in a world without her. Jasper could choose not to return to our family after this mistake. Alice would stay with him of course but they'd have left an extremely large hole in what little was left of our family. The rest of us would be distraught. We'd move someplace new and try to continue on but eventually we'd drift apart, the bonds no longer strong between us. And this was all assuming that the werewolves didn't simply decide to kill us all for breaking the treaty – another very real possibility.

I hadn't been alone in nearly a century. Edward had come into my life and for the first time since I'd become a vampire, I felt content with the way things were – happy even. Esme had brought even more of that feeling and added love into the mix. It was wonderful and the feelings only grew with each addition to my family. But now it seemed that it would all be taken away from me. I would lose them all and be alone once more. I couldn't go back to that, not after tasting such joy. One hundred years wasn't anywhere near long enough when you lived forever. I couldn't go back to being lonely. If nothing else could destroy me, that surely would.

My office phone rang, breaking me out of my depressing predictions. The blinking light signaled that the call was coming in from the nurses station in ICU. The worst flashed through my mind – surely they were informing me that Bella – No. I pushed those thoughts aside. There was no reason to jump to conclusions. I answered the phone.

"Yes?"

"Dr. Cullen, sorry to bother you," the nurse's voice began hesitantly. "But we have a bit of a situation with one of the guests in the waiting room in ICU. He is demanding to be allowed to see Isabella Swan."

I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck absently. What now? "Did you inform him that only family are allowed in?" I asked.

"Yes sir. But he won't listen. He's putting up quite a fuss and disturbing some of our other guests. He says his name is Jacob Black."

Now I rolled my eyes. Of course. The young werewolf would cause problems if Bella was involved. "Let him know I'm coming to speak with him personally. I'll be down there in a few minutes. Thank you." I replied, then hung up.

Before heading down, I took a moment to compose myself, pushing my earlier thoughts of doom and gloom away. Everything would be alright, I told myself. Bella would be fine; I would make sure of that even if it meant changing her. We'd work things out with the werewolves somehow. I don't think they knew of Jasper's mistake yet but they'd find out soon enough. We'd deal with that when it happened. I'd have to go down to the morgue later and hide any evidence of what had happened from the oblivious humans. Another thing to worry about later. For now, I had a moody werewolf to deal with and then I would check on Bella before resuming my rounds. Edward would be here soon as well.

The intense smell hit me well before I reached the waiting room for ICU. It was official – werewolves should not remain in enclosed spaces for any length of time, particularly not when there were patients with weak immune systems nearby. That odor could not be healthy.

Apparently Jacob had smelled me as well because he met me at the door.

"I want to see Bella." He demanded instantly, his own nose wrinkled against my own sent which I'd heard them describe as 'obnoxiously sweet' although, in my opinion, that was a far cry better than 'giant wet dog smell.'

"I'm afraid I can't allow that, Jacob." I responded to his demand politely, hoping to calm him. It was clear that his nerves were tightly wound right now. I didn't want to do anything that might set him off. It would not be good if he phased in here.

Beyond him, in the room, I could see his father, Billy Black, in his wheelchair rubbing his temples against a headache. Beside him sat Seth Clearwater who offered me a weak smile and rolled his eyes helplessly at Jacob's antics.

"Why not?" Jacob wanted to know.

I sighed and then wince at the smell that invaded my senses with that action. "I believe you've already been told why not. Only family is allowed in at this time."

"But we are family… more or less." He insisted. "And you know us!"

"I'm sorry Jacob, but rules are rules and you have to follow them just like everybody else. Hopefully, within a few hours, we'll be able to move Bella out of intensive care. You'll be able to see her then."

"Carlisle." I turned at the voice to see Edward approaching me from down the hall. Beside me, Jacob's face turned in a sharp sneer.

Edward's face was set in a calm mask but I'd known him long enough to be able to distinguish the emotions playing behind his eyes – fear, guilt, grief. He ignored Jacob's presence entirely, keeping his eyes on me. I knew that he was searching my mind for answers so I obliged him, thinking of Bella's condition and listing important information in my mind. I avoided showing him how she looked when she first arrived and I neglected to think of just how close we'd come to losing her in the beginning, but even without those, I could see the pain flickering through his eyes. My son was suffering and there was nothing I could do about it. As he reached me I laid a hand on his shoulder, conveying my sympathies and regrets through my thoughts and touch. "Edward." _Are you alright?_ I asked in my mind.

He nodded, anxiety playing over his features briefly before he once again became a picture of calm. His eyes flicked quickly toward Jacob and then returned to me, asking a question without words.

_I don't think they know yet._ I answered silently._ Don't worry about it. We'll figure it out somehow. Right now our main concern is Bella. Go to her._ He nodded and moved past me quickly into ICU.

The moment he was gone I felt Jacob bristle with emotion. I didn't need Jasper's gift to feel the anger and frustration radiating off this boy.

"Oh so he gets to go in?" he all but shouted at me.

I looked at him sharply. "Please keep your voice down. The patients don't need to be disturbed. Edward is Bella's fiancée, so yes, he gets to go in."

Jacob sneered when I mentioned Bella and Edward's relationship but he did remember to lower his voice when he spoke again though there was just as much vehemence in his tone. "They aren't married yet, so he's not family. He shouldn't get to go in. But of course, you'll break the rules for him. He's one of you. Filthy leeches. This is such a load of bull sh-"

"Jacob." Billy Black cut him off from in the room. "That's enough."

Jacob was shaking slightly and I frowned. If he couldn't control his anger we could end up with a very large, werewolf-sized problem here in the waiting room. It would not be good. Billy and Seth seemed to have noticed this as well because Seth had come to his side and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Jake, c'mon man. Calm down." The younger boy pleaded with his pack mate. Jacob turned his glared on him for a moment before closing his eyes and taking a few deep shuddering breaths.

And then it was like all the fight went out of him in one instant. His shoulders dropped and his head hung low. Seth ushered him back into the waiting room and got him to sit down where he buried his face in his hands. "I… I'm sorry." He said after a moment, though I assumed it was more to Seth and his father than to me, but I didn't worry about it. I was just glad he was calming down. "I just feel so useless." He growled out.

"I know bro. We all do." Seth replied. "But there's not much that we can do right now 'cept sit and wait."

"I hate waiting." He got up again and started pacing back and forth across the small room. It was actually rather comical since, due to his size, he could only take three small steps before having to turn around and go back the other way. "I can't just sit here. I need to do something."

He was right about that. He needed a task, something to keep him occupied, or I feared that I would soon be having to replace all the furniture in the waiting room.

"Jacob, perhaps you could do me a favor." He glared at me a moment then sighed and nodded. He'd do anything if it meant not having to sit here. I continued, "There are quite a few families here who are in for a long night of waiting. The cafeteria is on the other side of the hospital and I doubt many of them are going to want to leave for very long. If you could go bring up some coffee and maybe a few trays of food, I'm sure they would all be grateful. You can tell the kitchen staff to put whatever you get on my tab."

He considered my request for a moment, then looked at his father as if unsure. "Go on, Jake." Billy said. "Being cooped up in here ain't doing you no good. Make sure you get Charlie something and I'll just have a coffee, you know what I like."

Jake nodded and Seth stood up and grabbed his arm pulling him from the room. "I'll go too. C'mon Jake."

When they were gone, I turned to Billy who'd resumed rubbing his temples. "Thank you." I said simply. Billy was a good man. He cared for his family, his tribe, and Bella and Charlie, and I respected him for his strength and the wisdom that came from leading his people. To say we liked each other would be a far stretch but I believed that we had gained a mutual respect for one another during the days that I had made house calls to help Jacob heal from his injuries in the battle with the newborns. And soon that respect would be lost. Once he found out about Jasper's mistake, the fragile beginnings of peace between our families would be shattered.

He shrugged. "No problem. Jake's just a bit on edge right now. But then again who isn't? With everything that's happened today…"

"Indeed. No one could have seen something like this happening."

He raised an eyebrow skeptically at that. "Not even your fortune teller?"

I smiled wryly at his choice of words. "Unfortunately, Alice visions are not an exact science. They are based upon the decisions that people make as they make them. She can't see every possibility. I imagine she did see it coming, but only a few seconds before it happened. There was nothing that she could do."

Billy nodded in understanding and then looked off to the side, staring blankly at the wall as though seeing something that wasn't there. "We just came from the school. The whole pack has been there helping with the clean up. Like Jake, they just needed something to do."

"No one likes to feel helpless."

Another nod. "It's a mess down there. Just… everything… and when we found out that Bella had been hurt…" He drifted of lost in his own worries. I was about to bid him goodbye and get back to work when he looked at me sharply. "Your kids were there weren't they?"

I nodded, although his choice of words was a bit inaccurate. Edward and Alice were hardly 'kids.'

A strange look came into his eyes, as though he wanted to ask something but was unsure of how to phrase it. "They must be pretty strong." He said after a moment.

Ah, so that's what it was. The implied meaning behind his words was clear. He wasn't speaking of physical strength but of the strength to go against every instinct in our bodies – to not feed when the figurative 'banquet' had been laid out on a silver platter. He was subtly asking weather or not any of my children had slipped up and given into their instincts. He wanted the truth and I had to give it to him. As much as I would have liked to put this off until later, I knew that lying to him now would only make things worse.

"Yes," I replied, steeling myself for whatever might come next. "They are all very strong… but, unfortunately, there are times when they simply aren't strong enough."

There was a moment of silence as he considered my reply. I noticed immediately when he caught on to my unspoken words. His hands clenched tightly to the armrests of his chair, his whole body tense, his eyes wide. He stared at me searchingly, asking silently if I really meant what he thought I meant.

I nodded solemnly.

His eyes hardened and turned immediately toward ICU where he knew Edward would be with Bella and Charlie.

"Not Edward." I assured him, though I doubt my words were much comfort to him at this point. "It was my newest son, Jasper. I don't know exactly what happened but he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was a mistake." I tried to defend my son, but I knew that it all fell on deaf ears. All he could see right now was that we'd broken the treaty, betrayed the trust that had been so recently acquired.

"Where is he now?" Billy's voice was hard, all traces of the light amity we'd shared just moments ago now gone.

"He ran off into the mountains when he realized what he had done. His wife is with him. He won't go far but I assure you that no one is in any danger from him right now."

He nodded sharply accepting my words though clearly not at all happy with the situation. I waited patiently as he thought everything through. He finally looked back up at me and said, "It would seem that we have a problem."

I nodded. "I know. And I realize that this will have to be dealt with soon enough. However, I'd like to request that we hold it off for at least a few days. Emotions are still raw with everything that's just happened and I believe it would be best for everyone if we went into this with cool heads. And frankly, I have much more pressing matters to deal with here at the moment.." I nodded my head toward ICU to make my meaning clear. My patients, Bella in particular, were my main priorities right now And I'm sure that Billy would agree with that.

"Alright," he replied after a moment. "I'll keep this information to myself for now. But I can't just let this go Carlisle. It will be dealt with."

"I know. Thank you… and I'm sorry."

"So am I."

I bid him goodbye with a nod and went on to check on Bella. When I reached her bedside, I found Charlie just as I'd left him – hunched over in a chair with his head on the bed beside her shoulder, gripping her hand tightly. He seemed to have run out of tears however.

On the other side of the bed sat Edward, holding her other hand gently against his face, breathing in her scent and pressing tiny kisses against her knuckles. He raised his eyes to me as I approached but said nothing before returning to his ministrations.

I went over to Charlie and laid a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at me, his eyes red from crying. "Why don't you take a break, Charlie. Jacob Black went to get you some food and coffee. You're going to need it. We're in for a long night."

He didn't say anything, but nodded and leaned forward to kiss his daughter's cheek before heading back out to the waiting room.

I watched him go, then picked up the chipboard that was hanging by the bed. I jotted down notes as I checked the monitors that Bella was connected to – heart rate, blood pressure, etc. People often commented on my neat handwriting. I suppose it surprised them since most doctors wrote things down in near impossible to read chicken-scratch. Of course their excuse for this was that they had to write quickly. It was one of the benefits of being a vampire; I could write as fast as I needed to and still produce the elegant script that I'd learn in England in the 1600's.

_Has she moved at all?_ I asked Edward silently.

He shook his head and went back to work, checking her bandages and making sure that the IV line hadn't been dislodged. Of course, the nurses would have done all this already but I wasn't taking any chances with Bella. When I finished everything I needed to do, I hung the clipboard back up and took the seat that Charlie had vacated.

_Edward,_ I thought bring his gaze up to meet mine. _I told Billy._ He nodded as he saw my conversation with the Quileute elder play through my mind. He knew that we'd have to deal with this in a few days. _Were you there when Jasper… lost control._

Another nod.

_What happened?_ He took a breath knowing that this couldn't be answered silently. Then he proceeded to explain what happened quietly so that only I could hear him.

"It was a girl… a sophomore I think. She'd been shot in the head. She was already dead when Jasper got to her."

"Did he bite her?" I asked out loud, though in the same tone that he was using. He shook his head. That was good. At least the coroner wouldn't be asking any questions about strange marks. We had enough to deal with already. "What happened next?"

"We pulled him away and got him out. I wanted to back for Bella, but Alice wouldn't let me. I saw her vision. She said it was too late… I thought…" He sighed heavily. "That's twice now I've thought I'd lost her. I still might."

"I will do everything in my power to keep that from happening, Edward. I promise." He met my gaze and saw the vow behind my words at the same time as he read it in my thoughts. I wouldn't let Bella die. I wouldn't let my earlier imaginings of doom become reality.

It had been five hours since the world had turned upside down; five hours since our entire livelihood had been put at risk. Soon our bonds would be tested in a way we had hoped they would never have to be. I couldn't promise what would happen in the coming days and weeks but I could promise this: Bella would live. One way or another, she would live.


	3. Five Days Part 1

**Drifting **

_It only took a moment for everything to change… for lives to be lost; for a treaty to be broken; for lines to be drawn; for a family, once strong, to splinter and drift apart. We never saw it coming. We never dreamed it would happen this way._

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_**AN.** A special thank you goes out to Zombie's Run This Town and to gaby47 for their reviews. You guys are great! Now, for anyone who's waiting on Edward's POV, it's coming – maybe in part of chapter 5 but definitely in chapter 6. For Bella's POV you'll have to wait a little while longer. She is in a coma after all.

**Disclaimer:** All recognizable characters are the property of Stephanie Meyer. I do not own them but am grateful for the opportunity to use them in the unleashing of my own imagination.

**Rating:** This story is rated T for violence and depressing situations. **Warning! **This chapter contains semi-graphic descriptions of gore.

**POV:** This chapter is written from Jacob's point of view.

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**Chapter 3: Five Days – Part 1**

I can't remember what I was dreaming about. It was a nightmare – I knew that much – and it had been intense enough to startle me out of my sleep. That never happened. I usually slept like a log. But these past few days have been different. I hadn't been sleeping well at all. Of course, that might be partly due to the fact that I was sleeping slouched over in a chair that wasn't quite big enough for me.

But I'm pretty sure it was mostly that Bella was still lying in a coma after being shot in the chest and hitting her head.

I wiped the sleep from my eyes before looking over at her still form on the hospital bed. She hadn't moved at all in four days. I couldn't even say that she just looked like she was sleeping because she didn't. She looked awful. She was hooked up to a whole bunch of different machines monitoring her heart rate and all that stuff. A feeding tube ran under her sheets to where I knew it was plunged into her stomach, keeping her alive with some nasty looking goop in a bag. The stuff was the color of vomit and smelled just as bad, and while the good vampire doctor assured me that it was good for her, the mere thought of that stuff in anyone's stomach made me nauseous.

Her head had been shaved in the area around where she'd hit it. I hated the fact that they'd had to cut off so much of her hair. It had always been so beautiful. I imagine it took her awhile to grow it out that long. But now it was gone and in it's place was a five inch long scar, sewn together with tiny, precise stitches. They left it un-bandaged most of the time after the first two days – to air out, Carlisle had explained when I questioned it. Apparently it wasn't good to keep wounds covered all the time because it trapped any bacteria and increased the chance of infection. It was best to just keep it as clean as possible and let it heal on it's own. Whatever. I don't know much about medicine so I just stay back and let him do his thing. They didn't leave the bullet wound uncovered though – I guess for modesty's sake since it was in the middle of her chest – but nurses came in often to clean the wound and change the bandage. They would also take care of her other needs at those times.

I would always leave the room when they did that but Edward didn't. He'd just scoot his chair back out of the way and close his eyes. He hadn't left her side once since he got there.

I looked up now to where he was sitting on the other side of the bed. He glance up at me for a moment before returning his gaze to Bella. As I watched, he lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her palm before lowering it and returning to his motionless state once more.

It was really kind of eerie the way he could just sit there, literally as still as stone, for hours on end.

I remember going to a museum with my dad once where there was an exhibit of life-like human statues. We'd stopped for a moment next to a man dressed like a security guard. My dad had started talking to him and then got upset when he didn't respond, thinking the man was rude. We'd just about died laughing when we finally realized that he wasn't real.

Edward was like that guy. Only instead of finding it funny, I just thought it was really creepy. Because Edward wasn't a statue – he was real. And I'm sorry, but vampire or not, no one should be able to sit that still for that long. I went nuts just staying in one position for fifteen minutes.

He just sat there, holding Bella's hand and staring at her face with an expression like he was willing her with every cold, dead cell in his body to open her eyes. He didn't blink at all. Hell, the guy didn't even breath.

He only moved when he had to or when there were humans in the room. That had confused me at first. The moment that Charlie, Renee (who had flown in two days ago), or any other humans came into the room, he would start twitching. He'd cross and uncross his legs, run his hand through his hair, pinch the bridge of his nose, shift in his seat… It was really weird. At first I thought the humans were making him nervous or something. It wasn't until the third time it happened with me there that I figured out what he was doing.

He was acting human. All those little shifts and absent-minded motions were natural things that a normal human would do. Humans can't sit still for hours on end. They move and fidget and no one pays attention to it because it's natural. And that's all Edward was doing. The only reason I even noticed was because I'd seen him transition from being totally still to being in motion. The contrast between the two was bizarre.

And then it was like a light bulb turned on in my head. I'd never realized before how much the Cullen's had to do just to fit in with human society. It seemed that not moving was a natural state for them but of course, humans would notice if someone never moved. It would be like it was with my dad and the statue. So they had to remind themselves to move whenever they were around humans and that meant at school, work, the mall, anywhere they might happen to be. The only place they could ever truly relax would be at home.

I tried to imagine what it would be like to have to remind myself to move, to actually have to think about it instead of just letting it happen automatically, like scratching an itch. And not only that, they had to remember to not be perfect – to slouch a bit when they walked, to add "ums" and "likes" into their speech, to let their feet make noise as they moved so that they wouldn't startle people when they walked passed, and, in Edward's case, to not answer people's thoughts. They had to be in complete control of their bodies at all times and that was on top of having to control their thirst for human blood.

I compared it to my situation. As a werewolf I had to be in control of my anger. It wouldn't be good if I phased at the wrong time. I could end up hurting someone I love, the way Sam hurt Emily. Her scars were a constant reminder to all of us of what could happen if we messed up. But it had never been that difficult for me. For one thing, I was a pretty easy going person. I wasn't easily angered and in most cases I was able to let things go fairly quickly. And for another thing, everything about being a werewolf seemed to come naturally to me – phasing, controlling my temper, hunting, everything. I just seemed to know what I was doing. My dad said it had something to do with my lineage – because I was Ephraim Black's grandson, because I was supposed to be the Alpha. Whatever. The point was that I didn't struggle with it the way some of my brothers did.

And to compare it to everything that Edward and the Cullen's had to do… I really had it easy. It made me wonder why they even bothered. Wouldn't it be easier for them if they just quit trying to be something they weren't?

I remembered something that Bella told me once. 'They don't want to be monsters.' I had scoffed in reply saying that if they didn't want to be monsters they should just get themselves destroyed and save everyone the trouble. She'd gotten mad at me for that but I'd just laughed. I loved getting her riled up. She looked beautiful when she was angry.

But now, I was starting to see her point. I knew, at least on a logical level, that the Cullen's hadn't asked to become what they were. They hadn't been given a choice in the matter. Well, Carlisle had chosen to change at least four of them but apparently they'd been on the brink of death when he did so. The point though was that they hadn't wanted to be vampires, to be monsters, but they couldn't just go back to being human. They could have easily just accepted what they were and gone around killing humans as they pleased – the way that harpy Victoria and her newborns did. But instead they chose a different path, a much harder one – to go on living as much like humans as possible, to take on a different diet than was normal, to fight against every instinct so as to keep from becoming monsters.

It was very… noble of them. Each day was a struggle and yet they continued on with it hoping to achieve… something. I don't know. It was all to deep for me. But it gave me a sort of respect for them that I never thought I'd have. I still didn't like them of course, being mortal enemies and all that. But I found that I understood them a little bit now.

"Damn." I looked up, pulled from my thoughts by Edward's near silent curse – a human wouldn't have heard it. He was moving again, standing and leaning forward to touch Bella's forehead gently. His other hand came up to rest against her cheek. I frowned and stood up coming closer to the bed.

"Another fever?" I asked. He nodded and I looked over at the read out for body temperature on one of the monitors. 99.2 That wasn't too bad. Yesterday, she'd been up around 101.7.

Bella's temperature had been running high ever since she fell into the coma. Every now and then it would jump way up sending us all into a panic as we tried to get it down. Carlisle said that there wasn't any sign of an infection but that this was just part of her body's struggle to heal itself. It was dangerous though. A high fever could kill her quickly.

That was part of the reason that Edward refused to leave her side. He was her "ice pack" so to speak. The moment her temperature started to rise, he'd work to cool her down, placing gentle touches on her forehead, cheeks, and neck.

I couldn't help but be a bit jealous. I hated not being able to do anything to help. Only a few weeks ago she'd needed my heat to stay warm in a snow storm. She'd needed me, not him. Now it was the other way around. Now I couldn't even touch her without triggering another fever.

I stood there and watched as the numbers on the screen gradually started counting down. When it reached a healthy 97.8, Edward stopped and after kissing her gently on the cheek, sat back in his seat with a sigh.

I stood there for a moment, unsure what to do. My legs were restless, so I started pacing back and forth across the room. I wished the room were bigger. Being freakishly tall was one of the more annoying parts about being a werewolf.

As I paced, I let my mind wander back to the day this all started. It had seemed like such a normal day – no red sun rising or anything ominous like that, none of the things you'd expect to have happened on the day your best friend got shot.

I'd gone out early on patrol, setting a leisurely pace. I wasn't in any sort of hurry. I stopped for a while in a clearing at the top of a high cliff that jutted out over the ocean. It was a nice peaceful place where I could sit in solitude for hours. No humans could make it this high up on their own and, in my human form, I wouldn't be bothered by the thoughts of my pack-mates. I ended up staying there a lot longer then I'd intended.

It was late afternoon when I finally decided to head home. After phasing, I searched out for my pack mate's thoughts to let them know I was on my way home. I was a bit surprised to find that no one else was out on patrol but I shrugged it off and start back toward La Push. Once again, I took it slow.

I hadn't been traveling long when I felt the buzz of someone phasing.

_Hey Seth._ I greeted the familiar presence.

_Jake! Finally! We've been trying to reach you for hours! _ Seth's frantic thoughts filled my mind and I frowned in worry.

_Why? What's wrong? What happened?_

_Jake…_ he paused for a moment, and I could tell that he didn't really want to tell me but knew he had to. _Jake, there's been a shooting at Forks High School._

I think my heart might've stopped when I heard that. I know that I stopped breathing.

_What?_

_I know. It's crazy. But… Jake it's horrible. The whole pack is down at the school helping clean up. I think three people were killed and a lot more hurt. There's blood everywhere. The whole place is a mess._

_Seth. _I interrupted. _Is Bella okay?_

_Bella? I don't know. I haven't seen her. They haven't released the list of people who got hurt yet. But I wouldn't worry Jake. She's probably with the Cullen's._

I breathed a sigh of relief at his words. He was right. She probably would be with them. And as much as I hated to admit it, I knew that Edward wouldn't let anything happen to her. Still I wouldn't be completely calm until I saw her.

_Look Jake. I have to get back and help some more. Just get here fast, okay?_

_Yeah. I'm on my way._

His presence faded and I was left alone once more. I'd sped up considerably during our conversation and was now galloping at full speed toward Forks. I arrived a few minutes later.

There were tons of people milling about outside the school – some crying, others talking franticly on cell phones, some just standing there in shock. I felt like going into shock myself. I couldn't believe this was happening.

I spotted several men from La Push with gloves on, picking up shards of glass from a broken window. Paul was among them. He looked up and saw me.

"Jake!" he called, waving me over. I walked over to him. "Hey, can you believe this happened? It's totally crazy. Your dad and Sam are inside I think – not sure where. Your dad's been worried about you though so you might want to check in with him."

I nodded. "Right, thanks Paul."

Inside was really awful. I remember thinking that it looked like it came out of a horror movie which sounds really strange coming from a werewolf. Papers were scattered everywhere through the halls. A bulletin board had been ripped down from the wall. Several tables and chairs were laying on their sides. And then there was the blood. There wasn't too much in the hallway, just a few red shoe prints and a nasty looking smear on one wall.

I don't know what made me open the classroom door as I passed. I could smell the blood in there. It was kind of like when you see a really bad car accident and you want to look away, but you can't – like I just had to see. I stared with morbid fascination at the scene in the room and I knew right away that someone had been shot, maybe even killed there.

I don't know how long I stood there, just staring, before I felt a hand on my shoulder, pulling me away gently.

"Jake?" It was Embry. As soon as he got me out of the doorway he closed the door gently, almost with reverence. Then he led me down the hall always and got me to sit down against the wall, he sat beside me. I did everything without realizing I was doing it. In my mind, I was still staring into the classroom, unable to look away.

"Jake, you alright?" His voice finally reached me and I shook my head to get rid of the image before turning to look at him. His face was set in a grim expression, like he would never smile again. I imagine I didn't look much different.

"I… yeah, I'm fine. I just-" I drifted off, not knowing what to say. What do you say when something like this happens?

Embry seemed to know, or maybe talking was his way of dealing, because he picked up where I left off. "Yeah. It's all sort of surreal you know? I mean we just got done dueling it out with a bunch of vampires to keep these people safe and now… this… vampires vs. a kid with a gun. What's the bigger threat? You'd think it would be the vampires, right? But no…" His tried to keep his words light like he was desperately grasping for a way to make things seem okay, to lift the dark shadow that had fallen over Forks. But he failed and shuddered slightly as he closed his eyes and shook his head. "How did it turn out this way?"

I hoped he didn't expect an answer because I couldn't give him one. My mind was rushing with the same kind of questions he was asking. It just didn't make any sense – almost seemed absurd. This shouldn't be happening – shouldn't have happened.

You hear of other shootings – Columbine, Virginia Tech – and yeah, it's horrible and you feel terrible that it happened. But it's so far away and even though you hear the stories you stay disconnected. You know it happened but life goes on and you don't really think about it. You forget.

I never imagined it would happen here. In Forks of all places – a dinky little town in the middle of nowhere. People in other states would hear about it. Suddenly the names Forks would be one that people know. Churches would offer their prayers for us. Kids in schools might make cards to send. And then, after awhile, they'd forget. Forks high would just be another name on a list of schools where someone pulled out a gun and shot his classmates. Life would go on.

It felt like it shouldn't. It felt like time should stop moving and the whole world should be looking at the terrible thing that had happened here today. I knew that I would never forget this. No one in this town would. It made me wonder how we'd move past this – if we would. Or if we'd just drift through life over the next few years, our minds still stuck at this moment.

But life would go on whether I felt it should or not and I was reminded of that when Embry called me back to the present. I looked over at him.

"Jake…" he swallowed hard and I realized that he knew something more then I did, something more horrible then all this already was. "Jake, your dad's in the gym. He wants to see you. I… they got the list Jake… You need to go see your dad."

And I knew.

He didn't have to tell me, because I knew. Everything inside me was trying to deny it as I walked slowly towards the gym, trying to delay the truth I knew was coming. I didn't want it to be true, but I knew it would be.

And then I was there. And Sam and Seth and Dad were there. And there eyes told me everything without anyone having to say a word. But Dad spoke anyway. He told me that she'd been shot – that she was at the hospital.

It felt like this already fragile and shaken world was crumbling to bits. We left for the hospital immediately. They would've gone earlier but they were waiting for me. They'd been waiting… Because the world was falling apart and I was late for it. I was late. And now all I could do was sit back and watch and hope that we could somehow put it all back together again.

"All the kings horses and all the kings men…"

I looked over at Edward and it took me a moment to realized that he'd been listening in on my memories. Normally, I might've been angry at that realization. But I was to tired for anger right now. And I realized that maybe Edward would know what to do in a situation like this. He'd lived through several wars and tons of other things, maybe he knew how to put ol' Humpty Dumpty back together.

He laughed bitterly at my thoughts and shook his head. "I've seen a lot of horrible things in this world, Jacob – even more through the thoughts of others – but I've never really been affected by any of it. I may have lived most of my life as a part of human society but I've never really been involved in it. I never made any connections with the humans around me. I never knew them personally. Everywhere I've ever been I kept my distance, stayed apart – until I came here… and met her. And now this has happened. And for the first time in my existence I feel shaken – shattered. And I don't know what to do. I don't know how to fix this anymore then you do."

His eyes never left Bella as he spoke but the moment he was done talking, he looked up at the door expectantly. I turned as well, sniffing the air to see who was coming. It was one of them… Alice.

Just moments after I'd deciphered who was coming, the little pixie-vampire glided into the room. She looked tired – if it was possible for a vampire to look that way – and I suddenly realized that this was the first time I'd seen her since the shooting. Where had she been? I knew that Bella was pretty close to her so it seemed strange to me that she hadn't been here over the past few days. The rest of the Cullen's had flitted in and out as regularly as any of Bella's other friends and of course Edward and Carlisle were there the most. As I thought about it though, I realized that Alice wasn't the only member of the vampire family that had been absent. I hadn't seen her husband – or mate, or whatever – either. Weird…

"There you are." Alice whispered from the doorway. Her eyes fell on Bella and, if possible, she looked even more tired than she had before.

"Alice." Edward was standing beside her now, and laid a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him and tried to smile but couldn't and instead wrapped her arms around her brother in a tight embrace which he returned.

"Oh, Edward. I'm so sorry." She muttered into his shoulder and I knew she'd be crying if she were capable.

"It's not your fault Alice."

She stepped back from him at his words and gave him a look that clearly said _yeah, right._ Then she had stepped away and was at Bella's bedside, running her hand lightly through what was left of Bella's hair, careful not to come near her wound. "I should've seen it Edward. We could have stopped it before it ever happened."

"You did see it."

"Not in time though! I should have been watching for something like this."

"We never expected anything like this to happen and you were already watching for more then we could ever expect of you. Besides, it's my fault that Bella got hurt. I should have been there."

"You were where you were needed, Edward. You did what needed to be done."

"I needed to be with her too!"

"No one can be in two places at once, Edward. Not even you are that fast."

"Well I should be! I'm supposed protect her!"

"Stop it! Both of you!" I'd watch the argument go back and forth for long enough. In another situation, it might have been funny. For all intents and purposes, they were yelling at each other. However, there voices never raised above a dull whisper. My voice sounded loud in the room when I spoke and they both turned to look at me, surprised – as though they'd forgotten I was there.

I almost forgot what I was going to say as I was subjected to the full force of two vampires staring directly at me, but I quickly got my bearings and continued. "Placing the blame on yourselves is not going to help Bella get any better. You can go back and forth about it for days but it doesn't change the fact that the real one to blame for this whole mess is the asshole who decided to bring a gun to school and start putting bullets in people. I swear if that guy hadn't already killed himself, I'd rip him to pieces for this."

"Not if I got to him first." Edward rebutted. "I'm not sure there'd be much left for you when I got done with him." Ours eyes met and for once we were on exactly the same page with each other.

"Neither of you would do anything." The moment was broken by Carlisle, as he strode into the room. He look at his son and then at me with the same authoritative look that my Dad gets sometimes when he's laying down the law. "It's become clear that the boy suffered from severe mental insecurities which, unfortunately, went undiagnosed for far to long and now, of course, it's too late." He held up a hand to stop any rebuttal that might have come from me of Edward and continued. "I am not excusing what he did and I fully understand and share your anger. But I also know that killing the boy would have brought neither of you any satisfaction. Nor would it have helped Bella in any way. However, I do agree with Jacob in saying that playing the blame game is not something that anyone needs to be doing right now."

He waited for us all to nod in agreement before turning to Alice with a soft smile. "Alice, how are you?"

"I'm alright." She tried to return the smile, but fell short once more.

"And Jasper?"

"He's doing alright for now. I left him at the house."

Carlisle nodded and moved over to Bella's side, giving her a quick check-up. I knew a lot of it was just for show. He could listen to her heart without using a stethoscope and I don't think he needed the machines to tell him what her blood pressure was. But going through the motions was a part of pretending to be no more then human – just one more way he had to work to blend in.

When he finished, he looked at Alice once more. "You should head home. I have a few more things to do here, but I'll join you shortly. We need to talk." He turned to Edward and asked him something silently, I think. Edward raised one eyebrow in answer and Carlisle nodded and then turned to leave. "I'll see you all later then." He nodded once in my direction and then left.

Alice left not much later, kissing Bella on the cheek and giving Edward one more hug before she went. Once she was gone, Edward and I returned to our previous positions in our respective chairs on either side of Bella's bed. A silence, which had grown familiar over the past few days, settled over us once more.

It lasted about two minutes and then I felt an uncomfortable pressure in my bladder.

"You should get something to eat while you're out."

I hadn't even moved yet. I glared at Edward and opened my mouth to tell him off for telling me what to do – we'd had enough camaraderie today in my opinion – but he cut me off.

"You haven't eaten anything since brunch yesterday. You need to eat Jacob."

He was right, I realized. And I suddenly became aware that I was starving. How I hadn't noticed before I wasn't sure but now the hunger was there full force and I felt like I could eat an elephant.

"Never had an elephant… I wonder what it tastes like."

I looked at Edward incredulously when he said that and almost lost my newly found appetite at the mental image of him drinking blood from an elephant. But then I realized something.

"Don't you need to eat… err, drink… hunt, whatever."

Edward shook his head. "I hunted before I came here and I can go for much longer periods of time then this without hunting."

"Whatever." I took his word for it and headed out the door.


End file.
